*Picture attached is of Ella when she was a little girl.*
••••••
"Papa! Papa!"
The little girl's bare feet quickly ran through the thick green grass in order to get to her father. Her father smiled when he saw his daughter running towards him. He knelt down and caught the little girl as she ran into him, giving her a tight, yet gentle, hug.
"Why do you have to go?"
Her small voice shook with sadness at the thought of her father leaving again. He had only just gotten back a week ago. The man gave a sigh and kissed his daughter on the forehead.
"Well Ella, I have trade to do. I'll only be gone a few days, I promise. What would you like me to bring back for you this time?"
He always did this, he always made sure to ask his little Ella what she desired from the distant lands. Ella and her small family lived on the edge of the kingdom, close to the forest and the lake nearby. This made it easier for her father to travel throughout their land.
The little girl twisted in her father's arms, thinking.
"A ring." She said finally.
"A ring?" Her father smiled. "Like your mother's?"
Ella laughed at his joke and turned around to see her mother smiling as well. She shook her head and looked back at her father.
"There can't be another one that is that pretty, can there?"
Her father laughed and kissed her head again.
"Then I will find the second prettiest ring for you, how does that sound?"
"Thank you, thank you!"
Ella wrapped her arms around her father's neck and gave him a tight hug.
Her mother walked over and held Ella's hand as her father get ready to leave. Before he mounted his cart, he gave his wife a peck on the lips and patted Ella's head one last time. Then he was on the cart and leaving for what seemed to be the hundredth time this year.
Ella's father was a merchant, you see, and that meant leaving for sometimes months on end. But he never forgot to write to his wife or his daughter.
Ella looked forward to his return, as did her mother, as the days slowly turned into a week, and the week got longer.
But, true to his promise, Ella's father was not gone for that long. She heard him one day still off in the distance, but he was shouting.
"Ella! Where are my girls? Where are my beautiful girls?"
Ella laughed and ran outside, her mother following closely. She saw him after a while, atop his cart that was now full of goods from the lands abroad.
"Papa!"
She ran forwards, meeting him before he was down from his cart.
"Ella, my love!"
He hopped down and picked his daughter up, swinging her in the air. She giggled and hugged her father. He set her down and moved to kiss her mother. Then he bent down and looked at Ella eye-level.
"I have something for you."
Ella hadn't forgotten her request for a ring, and neither did her father it would seem. She smiled and twirled excitedly on the spot. Her father reached into his jacket and pulled out a small package wrapped in brown cloth. He handed it to his daughter, who took it carefully.
When she lifted the cloth from around the gift, a small ring fell into the palm of her hand. She gave a little gasp and smiled up at her father.
"It's beautiful!" She examined, making her father smile. It was beautiful, although quite simple. It was a silver band that crossed over itself twice in the very center.
"It might be a little big for you, but you will grow into it."
Ella smiled and turned to show her mother her first piece of jewelry. Her mother held out her own hand and showed Ella the one she wore. The two resembled each other a little bit, which made Ella even the more happy.
Later that night, her mother and father gently tucked her in to her bed. Her father kissed her and promised that he wouldn't have to leave for a few more months. Her mother lovingly stroked her hair and started singing a familiar lullaby.
Lavender's green, dilly dilly, lavenders blue.
You must love me, dilly dilly, for I love you.
Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavenders green.
When I am King, dilly dilly, you shall be queen.
Ella's mother sang this to her every night, and the little girl loved the song. She smiled and let her eyes close, her hand wrapping around the precious ring from her father.
Her parents quietly slipped out of Ella's room and shut the door behind them. Her father's arm was around her mother as the two slowly walked to their room for the night. But before she could reach the door, her mother stopped and frowned. Her father turned back, worried, and glanced at his wife. He opened his mouth that ask if she was alright, but was just able to catch her before she hit the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Ella darling, you may come in."
Her mother was laying on the bed in her room, calling to her daughter in the doorway. The doctor had just left after giving her father bad news. Ella was frightened and worried, she didn't want her mother to leave, she didn't want her childhood to change.
Ella all but ran to her mother's bedside when she was allowed in. Her mother's complexion had paled significantly since the last night Ella had seen her.
"Are you alright, mama?"
Her mother's eyes filled with tears as she slept nodded and cupped Ella's chin with her hand.
"I'm afraid I have to go soon, so very soon. But you must listen to me, my dear, for I have a secret to share that will see you through all the trials of life."
Ella nodded and wiped her own tears from her checks.
"Have courage, and be kind." Her mother whispered. "Never forget that, Ella. You have as more kindness in your little finger then many people posses in their whole bodies, and it has power. Promise me you will never forget it."
Ella nodded again and wrapped her small arms around her dying mother. "I promise mama, I promise."
Unable to restrain them anymore, Ella's mother let her own tears fall. Ella began to cry as well, and her father soon joined her by the bed.
"I must go now Ella." Her mother whispered, holding her tightly.
"No mama, please! Don't go!"
"Ella, I must. I love you my dear, I love you so very much."
She was able to kiss her daughter and her husband one last time before she went still. Ella's father pulled her away from the bedside before she could feel her mother go cold.
But that was not the last time Ella would have to wear black.
~~~~~~~~~~
Nine years later, Ella and her father had since moved on from most of the grief in their lives. Ella had grown into a beautiful young girl with long blonde hair and a somewhat fuller frame. She had gotten taller, although she always wished she would grow a few more inches. Her love for books and riding horses had filled most of her life, along with helping the household from time to time.
She even made friends in her own household, three little mice she had named Jacque, Tilda, and Gus Gus. Gus Gus was the larger mouse, Ella always saw him with a piece of cheese or a crumb of some sort. She even remembered to set out an extra piece of bread for him every once in a while.
Her father still left for the distant lands, leaving Ella alone with only the household. She didn't mind as much, but she still missed him terribly when he was gone. One particular girl in the household staff, a kitchen maid, grew close with Ella over the years. Her name was Dulcy, and she was only a year younger then Ella.
One day in the middle of spring, when Ella was reading to Dulcy as she cooked, Ella's father called her into the parlor. Ella excused herself to Dulcy, who promised it was alright, and went to see what her father wanted. She found him sitting on a couch by the empty fireplace. He was twirling his teacup around in his fingers, giving off an air of anxiety.
Ella sat down next to him and waited patiently. Finally he looked up.
"Ella," he started slowly "I have decided that it would be best for the both of us if we start a new chapter in our lives."
Ella nodded in agreement.
"I trust you remember that a while ago I made friends with Sir Francis Tremaine?"
Ella nodded again. "Yes of course. The Master of the Gild, is he not?"
"Was, lass. The poor man has died."
Ella nodded again, slowly. She felt sorry for the man's family, if he had one.
"His widow, an honorable woman, finds herself alone. Although she is still in the prime of her life."
Ella was beginning to find herself wondering if her father was meaning what she thought he was. Her father stopped in his explanation, looking worried. Ella sighed.
"You mustn't be worried about telling me." She said gently. "If it will lead to your happiness father, then I think that the wise thing to do."
Her father looked up, not surprised that she had put it together herself.
"Yes! Happiness! Do you think that I might be allowed one last chance, even though I thought it was gone forever?"
"Of course I do, father!" Ella smiled at her father, who didn't look worried anymore. She leant into him and wrapped her arm around his waist in a hug. He laughed and pulled her into him.
"She'll merely be your stepmother." He said happily. "And you'll have two stepsisters as well, to keep you company."
Ella became happy, excited even for the arrival of her new mother and sisters. Sisters! She thought the idea was wonderful. She had never had any siblings, and now she was going to have two sisters with her!
She began to look forward for the day that they would arrive. Her father said it would be only a little while, which Ella was thankful for.
On the day she would meet them, she couldn't have been more nervous. What if they wouldn't like her? What if she didn't like them?
She took a deep breath when she heard the coach approaching and remembered her promise to her mother: have courage and be kind. She whispered the words quietly to herself before running outside.
She came to stand next to her father on the front steps, watching the arriving coach.
Her father met the coach where it stopped and opened the side door. The first thing Ella heard was a loud gasp and a shrill cry.
"She's skinny as a broomstick!"
"And what blonde hair!"
Two girly laughs sounded from inside the coach and the first stepsister made her appearance. Ella stepped down the stairs to greet them.
The first girl was wearing a blue and yellow dress with a yellow bonnet pinned to the back of her styled hair. Her hair was reddish brown in color and hung in tight curls around the sides of her head.
Her sister followed her closely, wearing the exact same dress and bonnet but in different colors. This girl was wearing pink and purple on her dress, with a pink bonnet. Her hair was styled almost the same way and was the same color.
The second girl instantly rushed to Ella and touched her blonde hair.
"You have such nice hair." She drawled.
"Thank you." Ella smiled kindly.
"You should have it styled." The first one said, gesturing to her own curls.
"Oh, I'm sure you're right. Would you like a tour of the house?" Ella offered politely.
"What did she say?" The first girl whispered to her sister as if Ella wasn't there.
"She wants to show us her farmhouse. She's proud of it, I think."
"Do they keep animals inside?"
The girls laughed shrilly again and Ella gently shook her head no. Ella frowned at this, a little taken aback. She didn't expect this at all.
But she was distracted by the third person getting out of the coach. Well, the first thing that got out wasn't a person at all. It was a cat. But the cat was on a leash and there was most definitely a person holding onto the leash. A tall, pale woman was slowly helped from the coach and came to stand in front of the girls. She was wearing a black and yellow dress with a black bonnet and a veil half-covering her face.
Ella figured she must still be in grief.
"Charming. How perfectly charming." The stepmother spoke smoothly, but with a voice that made Ella think she didn't really mean what she said.
"Come inside." Her father offered happily. "We will show you around, and you can make yourselves comfortable."
Ella followed the step family and her father inside the house, not as happy as she had once thought she would be.
"How long has your family lived here?" One of the step sisters asked once they were in the parlor.
"Over two hundred years."
"And in all that time, you never thought to decorate?"
"Anastasia!" Her mother scolded her. "Hush! I do think you are dishonest."
Ella had a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach, and it was growing by the minute. Her sisters weren't kind at all, not like she had hoped or expected. But she had promised her mother that she would be kind, and so she would try.
Ella's stepmother, as a high spirited lady, did what she could to restore laughter and light to the household. She liked to throw parties, which she and her daughters took part in. Ella's father often did as well, but this time he wasn't there as usual. Ella walked through the crowded parlor of laughing, drinking, and gambling people, feeling slightly underdressed. She was merely wearing a soft blue dress and no shoes while everyone else was dressed in jewels and lace.
Not seeing her father, she exited as quietly as she could and slipped out into the hallway. There, she saw her mice friends enjoying themselves with a few stray pieces of cheese.
Ella laughed and knelt down next to them.
"Well, look who's having a party of their own." She cooed. "Jack, Tilda, greedy Gus Gus." She smiled at the fat mouse chewing on the largest piece of cheese. Ella turned when she heard the angry hiss and yowl of a cat nearby. She saw Lucifer, her stepmother's cat, siting on the stairs only a few feet away from the mice. Ella stood and picked the cat up into her arms, petting his fur softly.
"Just what do you think you're up to, Lucifer?" She asked. "Gus Gus is my guest, and the eating of guests is not allowed." She laughed softly and put the cat back down on the stairs. "Go on. You have plenty of cat food to keep you happy."
She waited until Lucifer was safely upstairs until winking at her small friends and going to find her father.
He was where she expected him to be, in his study. She opened the doors and walked in to find him seated at his desk, writing something on a piece of parchment.
"You're missing the party." Ella told him lightly.
"Well I imagine it's not that different from the others." Her father said, only pausing briefly in his writing to look up at his daughter. "And I'm leaving first thing in the morning."
Ella's high spirits fell when she heard this.
"What? But you've only just got back from your last one."
It was true. Her father had only been home for five days since having been gone for almost two weeks.
"Do you have to go?" Ella asked sadly.
"It's only for a few months, my darling." Her father reassured her.
The two sat in silence for a minute, just listening to the laughter and chatter that was the party in the parlor. Then her father looked up at Ella.
"What would you like me to bring you back this time?" He asked with a smile. "Your stepsisters have asked for parasols and lace. What would you have me bring you?"
Ella smiled, running one of her fingers over the silver ring on her middle finger of her left hand. She had only just grown into it, having worn it on a chain around her neck before it fit.
Ella thought for a second.
"Bring me the first branch that brushes your shoulder on your journey." She said simply. Her father raised an eyebrow and let out a little laugh.
"That is a...curious request."
"Well, you'll have to take it with you your whole way." Ella explained with a smile. "And think of me whenever you look at it. And when you come back, that means that you'll be with it."
Ella's voice had grown shaky, her smile fading.
"And that's what I want the most. For you to come back. No matter what."
Her father stood from his desk and met his daughter in the middle of the room. Her pulled her into a loving hug that Ella gladly received.
"I will." He promised. "But when I'm away, I want you to be good to your stepmother, and your stepsisters. Even though they can be...trying at times. I always leave a part of me behind, Ella. I want you to know that."
Ella nodded, holding her father's hand in her own.
"And your mother, she's here too. Even though you see her not. She's the very heart of this place."
"I miss her." Ella said sadly. "Don't you?"
"Very much." Her father replied. "So very much."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Remember the lace!"
"And my parasol!"
Ella heard her stepsisters' form of goodbye to her father, although he did not respond. She held his hand as he leaned over the side of his cart. She ran with the cart as it slowly peeled away from the house. Ella held her father's hand as long as she could before the cart got too fast and she had to let go.
"I'll miss you!" She told him before he got too far away. He blew her a kiss as she stopped running by the gate outside the house. She waved at him with a sad smile.
"I love you!"
"I love you too!"
Ella waved until the cart was out of sight, and even then she stayed in the road until Dulcy came and gently pulled her back inside.
"I miss him terribly." She told her friend. Dulcy smiled.
"He hasn't been gone a minute, Ella."
Ella wiped the stray tears that were on her checks and Dulcy gave her a hug.
The two of them walked past the living room, where Ella's stepmother sat.
"Ella, dear." She called the girl in. Dulcy gave Ella one last smile before disappearing down the hallway. Ella slowly walked in towards her stepmother.
"Now now dear, we mustn't fret."
The woman gave Ella a small hug to comfort her.
"Yes, stepmother."
"Oh, you needn't call me that. Madame will do."
Ella looked at the woman in shock. But before she could say anything, angry yells cut her off.
"I need that room, I didn't have enough space for my clothes!"
"Well then make yourself smaller!"
Ella's two angry stepsisters came into view, chasing each other down the hallway, Anastasia angrily yelling at her sister. Ella wasn't shocked, although she had been the first time she had heard the two fight. She couldn't imagine ever treating someone else that way, especially a sister.
"Anastasia and Drusella have always shared a room." Her stepmother explained, patting Ella's hand.
"Such dear, affectionate girls."
Ella looked at her stepmother in surprise, then down at the thin white hand that held her own, smaller one.
"Or better yet, disappear entirely!" Drusella yelled at Anastasia.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you? Sometimes I could scratch your eyes out!"
From next to her, Ella's stepmother sighed.
"I think they are finding the sleeping arrangements rather confining."
"Oh well, my bedroom's the biggest next to yours and father's. They could share it."
Ella's stepmother looked at her in surprise.
"What a wonderful idea! What a good girl you are!"
"Well I could sleep in the spare-"
"The attic! Quite so!"
Ella looked at her stepmother in shock. Was she serious?
"The attic?"
Her stepmother stood up from next to Ella and began walking around the room.
"Well, only temporarily while I have all the other rooms redecorated. The attic's so nice and airy. And it will be much more cozy if you keep all this brick-a-brack up there with you."
As Ella stood up, her stepmother picked up a tray with sewing materials on it and placed it in her hands. The sewing had been her mother's but it hadn't been used for years.
Her stepmother smiled at her and then waltzed out of the room.
Ella stood there in surprise at her stepmother, but then shook it off.
The attic couldn't be that bad...
She slowly carried the sewing tray up the flight of stairs to the attic and pushed the creaky door open.
The attic was a circular room with almost nothing in it expect for a few pieces of furniture.
Ella set the tray down on a ledge by the only set of windows. She looked around and sighed.
"Well. No one shall disturb me here."
She looked around and found a small bed frame that had a thin, but usable, mattress. Ella pulled that against one wall and found a clean blanket to put on it.
When she overturned a chair, she gasped in surprise when she found her three little mice under it. She smiled when she saw Gus Gus eating a piece of cheese.
"So this is where you take refuge?" Ella asked her friends, sitting down on her bed. The mice squeaked quietly in reply. Ella smiled at them.
"Me too, it would seem."
Ella stood up from her bed and stood in the center of her new room, examining it. It felt odd to say it, but she wasn't too upset with the fact that she had to stay here. She rather liked it, really.
"How pleasant. No cats, and no stepsisters." Ella said quietly, shutting the attic door.
The days that Ella's father was gone seems long and boring without him. But like always, the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months. Her greatest comfort where the letters he would send, and she would wait for them every day.
Until late on afternoon, Ella got news that she was not expecting.
The girl ran to open the door when she heard the quiet knock. Her father hadn't written in two days. It wasn't uncommon, but she was expecting another letter anytime now.
She opened the door to see farmer John standing there, his hat removed and his face distraught.
"Farmer John." Ella said in surprise. The old farmer stood in front of her, not wanting to talk.
"Miss Ella," he finally said "it's your father, miss. He took ill on the road."
Ella's heart started beating.
He had to be alright.
Nothing could have happened to him.
"He's passed down, miss. He's gone."
Those sentences were the ones Ella was dreading the most. She stood with her hand on the door, trying to comprehend what it all meant.
Her father...dead.
"He wanted to give this to you."
Farmer John handed Ella a small branch from a maple tree.
"Until the very end he spoke of only you and your mother."
Ella nodded slowly, taking the branch without a word. Her hands were shaking and she was still in shock.
"But what about my lace?" She heard Drusella ask from behind her.
"And my parasol?" Anastasia sounded upset as well.
"Don't you see girls? None of that matters now. We're ruined! How will we live?"
Ella ignored her step sisters and her stepmother. They didn't understand. They never would.
"Thank you." Ella whispered to farmer John. "That must have been very hard for you."
The farmer nodded and turned away when Ella softly closed the door.
Her stepsisters weren't there anymore, neither was her stepmother. She didn't expect them to be.
Ella slid to the floor, her back to the door, and clutched the maple branch to her chest. The tears welled in her eyes and she let them fall freely. Once they started, they don't stop.
She sat by the door for hours and let out all her grief and disappointment. She sobbed freely, and when Dulcy found her, she sat with her until she finally persuaded Ella to go to bed.
Thence began Ella's hardships in her life. True, she had already had some. But from that day on, Ella was a changed girl.
Once her stepmother dismissed the household and forced Dulcy to find work elsewhere, Ella had nobody except her tiny mice friends who kept her company just as well. Fortunately, Ella's young maid friend found work inside the kingdom and was able to see Ella every once in a while in the marketplace.
And as time went on, her stepsisters and stepmother ever misused her. They began to think of her less of a sister, and more of a servant.